Saturated fat pledge ‘a drop in the ocean’

Orrisons, Subway and Nestle are among firms signed up to the voluntary "responsibility deal" between industry and government. But Prof John Ashton, president of the Faculty of Public Health, said the approach "lacked credibility".
 
The Department of Health (DoH) said it would "make a huge difference". It says the average man should eat no more than 30g of saturated fat a day, while the average woman should eat no more than 20g.
 
According to the British Dietetic Association, most people eat about 20% more than the recommended maximum levels – and a survey of 2,000 people for Sainsbury’s found 84% of those questioned did not know how much saturated fat was a healthy amount.
 
The DoH said cutting the amount of saturated fat in people’s diets by 15% could prevent around 2,600 premature deaths every year from conditions such as heart disease and stroke.
 
Almost half of the food manufacturing and retail industry – based on market share – has signed up to this latest pledge to reduce the amount of saturated fat in products, the DoH said.
 
Measures planned by companies include Nestle altering the make-up of KitKat biscuits, Morrisons reformulating its range of spreads and Subway replacing biscuits and crisps in its Kids’ Pak with healthier options.
 
Other firms which are cutting saturated fat or have pledged to do so include Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Mondelez International – which will alter products including its Oreo biscuits.